Weekend Update
May. 2nd, 2006 12:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellyssianOkay, I delayed this until now - my mom's in the air, on her way back here. We'll see if she notices any of the stuff that was done over the weekend - most very obvious.
I must admit, this was my idea originally, but Deb convinced the kids to play along. Me, I was ready to give up moments after I first mentioned it. =)
Saturday Updatia, Displaced
See, we wanted to see how soon my mom notices some of what we did earlier today (soon to be yesterday, as the Witching Hour fast approaches, at nearly one second per second.) Maybe she'll notice something is different but not be able to put her finger on it? Of course, that doesn't help you, because I haven't let you in on the Sekrit just yet.
We - First Mate Justarius, Princess Laurana, Crew Member 19 (you just *know* he doesn't make it home alive,) and yrs truly, Captain Ellyssian - set sail on a three hour tour, which actually wound up being a four and a half hour event, because it involved raiding Home Despot, and I tend to enjoy myself gurtly at that sort of port. Yeah, I'm a little tired, but I just had supper at around 11:00pm, so I can't go to bed right away. Bad for the digestion and all that, wot wot.
Anyway, Home Despot - first stop! We set out around 10:00am, and aimed the S.S. Contour in that general direction (actually, it was nowhere resembling that direction, on account of having to stay on the driveway, and then whole bunches of roads that weren't exactly in as-the-crow-flies straight directions, but you get the idea.) First stop at the first stop was the lights and lamp section, and that part of the mission was an utter failure - we were looking for a glass shade for the floor lamp, and they had nothing resembling the beastie, leastways, nothing that wasn't sold with some lamp or light fixture. Next in line after that was more successful - a set of shelves for over the washer and dryer. Some booklets of pain samples and deck stain were next up, and then we went looking for a towel holder for the half-bath - we've been using a tiny little hook with a suction cup stuck to the mirror; it was intended to hold a little stained glass decoration; instead, it pierces tiny holes in towels, and usually drops them anyway. Deb had specified not gold (which none of us really like, but that is what all the current fixtures in all the bathrooms are) and not silver (which we *do* like, so I think Deb may have bonked her head shortly before saying that, or something...) so the choices were fairly limited. I misremember what the official name of the finish is - bronze something or other, maybe? Anyway, it's a dark, brushed metal finish, and the style we went with was Delta's Victorian. I wanted to get a hook for the back of the door as well, so we grabbed a matching style hook and, since the only other item in that bathroom is the toilet paper holder, I replaced the gold one with one that matched the other fixtures. At some point, I might replace the faucet on the sink, but that's not a big deal.
While looking for aerators for the faucets - the originals in the half-bath, kitchen, and full bath upstairs were plugged with sediment prior to the install of the water filtration last summer - we stumbled across vertical blinds (well, not really stumbled, as they were stored in an upright position, on a rack, and were not just strewn across the aisle in an unsafe fashion) and the kids quickly decided they liked the Thames embossed style vs. the Crown marbled one, but were split on white vs. alabaster. The pricing was decent, and, although not on The List, it was on the list back at home for ordering via someplace unknown. I called Deb to verify the width of the doors, and they were actually narrower than I had thought - good thing I checked; the 104" ones wouldn't have run into the walls long before they ran out of length; the 78" set was what we needed. That gave us another choice of pattern as well - English Channel. which was ribbed. I made an executive decision to go with Alabaster, as it was an off-white. At this point, we had two very large items sticking out of the shopping cart, so I sent Justin back for one of the smaller of the larger flatbed carts - I knew we still had 2x4's to go, and it would be hazardous to balance more stuff on top of the cart. Rachel and I made another pass down the Kitchen & Bath aisles, looking for the aerators, until I finally found a worker, who directed me to the plumbing section across the way - apparently, aerators are considered repair items, so they aren't kept anywhere near the fixtures they fit into. Go figure.
Rachel and I waited for Justin at the top of the plumbing section, then transferred the long items to the flatbed. I went down the aisle, grabbed the aerators (only three, because for some reason the master bath's sink never had a sediment problem.) Next step was to get those 2x4's for the sifter frame, and after that, Rachel and I hunted down some angle brackets and wood screws to assemble the sifter. Picked up a set of four ratcheting straps - always seem to need them. Back down the other end of the store, we picked up a 6' pry bar for rock removal - should help keep us from breaking more shovels and digging forks. Out in the garden shop, we found some deer netting and stakes.
And that was it. I think.
Of course, it was now somewhere around 2:30pm, and we were pretty hungry. Picked up Gourmet Food on the way home - they have this new Texas Double Whopper, so we thought we'd try it. Lots of mustard, which isn't exactly something I associate with Texas, but what the hey? I think I went through about 10-15 napkins. Messy stuff, but not bad. Not as good as the Ultimate Double Whopper special they ran a few months ago, but you can't win 'em all.
After eating, I popped in the aerators, and then Justin and I went outside and wrapped up the ratcheting straps so we'd have them handy. Discovered that they could get away with making them ungodly long because they didn't actually expect you to wrap up all the webbing on the spindle. I'm pretty sure every other one of these I've seen - most a little wider, and probably not as cheap as these - was capable of that, but these started jamming the mechanism when you have half the strap wound up. Oh well, they'll still work, just lots of extra hanging off in most cases.
Rachel helped me get stakes placed for the deer netting. We did the two elderberry, the river birch, and were working on the katsura when Deb finished her after-lunch shower and could watch Brandon - this freed up Justin, who turned out to have a knack for driving in the metal fencing poles. I had tried several things - a rubber mallet (the stake chewed it up a bit too much), a ball peen hammer (loud and ineffectual - a winning combination!), rubber mallet with pressure treated wood block (the stake split the wood block,) pre-drilling holes with the auger bit, and, finally, auger, followed by hammering in with the rubber mallet against a rock. We used three stakes per tree. Once Justin jumped in, things went faster - I drilled the holes, Rachel kicked the dirt back in (we didn't really want a hole - just the loosening of the soil) and held the post, and Justin hammered it in. We made quick work of the posts for the black pussy willow, native tulip tree, and the two mulberry. Rachel made us ice teas for a break, and then we wrapped the posts with the deer netting. Justin and I alternated cutting the netting, and then I held it taut while he hooked it on - if it comes undone, we'll need to get plastic ties to fasten it on. When we got to the tulip tree, Rachel wanted to do the cutting, so she did that and the second mulberry. I went in for the camera, so there will be a few pictures of that posted eventually. It was great seeing the two work together - Justin holding the netting and providing tension, and Rachel using the wire cutters to snip it apart. Justin actually put that one up entirely by himself, while I headed off to the front yard to take some pictures of the bleeding hearts while they're in bloom.
All three kids played for a while, and after I bit, I went in and grabbed the garden shears and the loppers, then went around the foundation trimming grass from the mulch bed (it is nowhere near deep enough, but it will get there eventually) and trimmed some dead leaves from a few plants around the foundation and elsewhere.
When we came in, Justin and I put up the blinds, and then went outside and tested for light leakage - can't see in at all, which is what's supposed to happen, so all was good there. We looked into putting up the shelf over the laundry, but it was a bit too long - by about an inch or so. We'll cut it down with a hacksaw tomorrow (today, actually, as midnight passed by...) I want to take care of that outside, though, as I don't have a workbench set up yet.
We did manage to get all the half-bath Victorian accessories installed, despite a failing of three of the cheesy drywall inserts they included.
Quite a day, really.
Tomorrow should also be busy: we need to get the shelves up, pry up two 4x8 sections in Justin's room, lay down 4 rows of insulation (which means the next step is to put down 4 sheets of 3/4 plywood!) Rachel needs to finish clearing stones from her garden so I can help her till it, and Justin has to clear some more leaves from the bottom 2/3 of Stone Stream. Before all that fun, we have to water everything we've planted, as it's getting Scorched Earth-dry out there. I noticed in the sandy wash (caused by the developer leaving piles of sand out after finishing the sand mound) that the ground is starting to crack, and walking almost anywhere - especially along the backwoods - results in crunchy footsteps. Not good. News also reported "the brush fires are back" - last weekend our county finally voted in a burn ban, and then it rained for a few days in a row - as far as I know, the ban was never lifted, so the danger never really went away. So, anyway, drinks all around... nice and early, which should actually help get the rain started.
Nothing like watering the outside plants - or washing your car - to make sure it rains right away.
Oh! Almost forgot to mention the fate of crew member #whichever-it-was: Just discovered him crawling back and forth along the starboard rail, obviously not performing his duties, and so he administered punishment and crushed him.
Sunday Updatia, Misplaced
Well, because it is based on stuff that happened yesterday - which is last Saturday, to everyone who is not here watching over my shoulder as I type this - and because I held off that post, I had to hold off this one, too.
Hmmm, I may give this whole thing up and just post these in a calm, orderly fashion once I get into work tomorrow (which is either today or a two days ago to you, depending on my whim.)
We did get the watering done - didn't take too long; Justin finished the last bit up while I started on the Hair o' the Mad Cow what Bit You or whatever name gets decided upon for that particular creation. The only problem was that particular meal didn't happen until something like 1:00pm or 2:30pm or some other ungodly, much later than 11:00am lunch time. After lunch, we put Brandon down for a nap, and then I hacksawed the shelves and the hanger pole down to size. Rachel managed to get the stones from her garden cleared. Justin and I built the sifter - 2x3', downsized from 3x3' originally, *almost* to a 2x2', and then I remembered the reason for the 3' was to be able to set it on the wheelbarrow.
While I was doing the first stage of the sifter construction, I set up the hose to the ornamental sprinkler. That instantly caught Rachel and Justin's attention - they were playing Hit the Kid on the Scooter with a Tennis Ball down in the cul de sac, but they ran up once they noticed the water whirling and twirling. I sent them in to get changed into bathing suits, and to wake Brandon up from his late nap, and the kids played for a bit, at least until Deb got back from her vacation afternoon and informed them it was too cold for such things. Of course, given that we have well water, it is pretty much assured that the water will always be too cold for such things, even in the heat of summer.
I got a bit ticked off later, as Rachel seems to be getting ticked on by some troublesome ticks - she found another one on her ear, and it was removed safely, but had been in place longer, thus more of a risk.
Due to our late start (nearly noon before we even started the watering that was supposed to happen early in the morning,) I was too beat to assemble the shelving, but we should be able to put that together tomorrow night. We didn't get to Justin's room, but with as little as twenty feet of nailed edges between those two boards, once we get this week's goal done, we've completed the one two weeks away as well, so we're not falling behind schedule (yet again.) Of course, it would be nice to be ahead of schedule for once, but that's wishful thinking.
Still haven't crunched those health numbers - should do it once I finish this - but I did notice tonight's blood pressure was back to very good. That gives excellent proof that if I can put in some physical exercise, or even work, I'll get healthier. That really should help kick my ass regarding exercise, but how well it works remains to be seen.
I must admit, this was my idea originally, but Deb convinced the kids to play along. Me, I was ready to give up moments after I first mentioned it. =)
Saturday Updatia, Displaced
See, we wanted to see how soon my mom notices some of what we did earlier today (soon to be yesterday, as the Witching Hour fast approaches, at nearly one second per second.) Maybe she'll notice something is different but not be able to put her finger on it? Of course, that doesn't help you, because I haven't let you in on the Sekrit just yet.
We - First Mate Justarius, Princess Laurana, Crew Member 19 (you just *know* he doesn't make it home alive,) and yrs truly, Captain Ellyssian - set sail on a three hour tour, which actually wound up being a four and a half hour event, because it involved raiding Home Despot, and I tend to enjoy myself gurtly at that sort of port. Yeah, I'm a little tired, but I just had supper at around 11:00pm, so I can't go to bed right away. Bad for the digestion and all that, wot wot.
Anyway, Home Despot - first stop! We set out around 10:00am, and aimed the S.S. Contour in that general direction (actually, it was nowhere resembling that direction, on account of having to stay on the driveway, and then whole bunches of roads that weren't exactly in as-the-crow-flies straight directions, but you get the idea.) First stop at the first stop was the lights and lamp section, and that part of the mission was an utter failure - we were looking for a glass shade for the floor lamp, and they had nothing resembling the beastie, leastways, nothing that wasn't sold with some lamp or light fixture. Next in line after that was more successful - a set of shelves for over the washer and dryer. Some booklets of pain samples and deck stain were next up, and then we went looking for a towel holder for the half-bath - we've been using a tiny little hook with a suction cup stuck to the mirror; it was intended to hold a little stained glass decoration; instead, it pierces tiny holes in towels, and usually drops them anyway. Deb had specified not gold (which none of us really like, but that is what all the current fixtures in all the bathrooms are) and not silver (which we *do* like, so I think Deb may have bonked her head shortly before saying that, or something...) so the choices were fairly limited. I misremember what the official name of the finish is - bronze something or other, maybe? Anyway, it's a dark, brushed metal finish, and the style we went with was Delta's Victorian. I wanted to get a hook for the back of the door as well, so we grabbed a matching style hook and, since the only other item in that bathroom is the toilet paper holder, I replaced the gold one with one that matched the other fixtures. At some point, I might replace the faucet on the sink, but that's not a big deal.
While looking for aerators for the faucets - the originals in the half-bath, kitchen, and full bath upstairs were plugged with sediment prior to the install of the water filtration last summer - we stumbled across vertical blinds (well, not really stumbled, as they were stored in an upright position, on a rack, and were not just strewn across the aisle in an unsafe fashion) and the kids quickly decided they liked the Thames embossed style vs. the Crown marbled one, but were split on white vs. alabaster. The pricing was decent, and, although not on The List, it was on the list back at home for ordering via someplace unknown. I called Deb to verify the width of the doors, and they were actually narrower than I had thought - good thing I checked; the 104" ones wouldn't have run into the walls long before they ran out of length; the 78" set was what we needed. That gave us another choice of pattern as well - English Channel. which was ribbed. I made an executive decision to go with Alabaster, as it was an off-white. At this point, we had two very large items sticking out of the shopping cart, so I sent Justin back for one of the smaller of the larger flatbed carts - I knew we still had 2x4's to go, and it would be hazardous to balance more stuff on top of the cart. Rachel and I made another pass down the Kitchen & Bath aisles, looking for the aerators, until I finally found a worker, who directed me to the plumbing section across the way - apparently, aerators are considered repair items, so they aren't kept anywhere near the fixtures they fit into. Go figure.
Rachel and I waited for Justin at the top of the plumbing section, then transferred the long items to the flatbed. I went down the aisle, grabbed the aerators (only three, because for some reason the master bath's sink never had a sediment problem.) Next step was to get those 2x4's for the sifter frame, and after that, Rachel and I hunted down some angle brackets and wood screws to assemble the sifter. Picked up a set of four ratcheting straps - always seem to need them. Back down the other end of the store, we picked up a 6' pry bar for rock removal - should help keep us from breaking more shovels and digging forks. Out in the garden shop, we found some deer netting and stakes.
And that was it. I think.
Of course, it was now somewhere around 2:30pm, and we were pretty hungry. Picked up Gourmet Food on the way home - they have this new Texas Double Whopper, so we thought we'd try it. Lots of mustard, which isn't exactly something I associate with Texas, but what the hey? I think I went through about 10-15 napkins. Messy stuff, but not bad. Not as good as the Ultimate Double Whopper special they ran a few months ago, but you can't win 'em all.
After eating, I popped in the aerators, and then Justin and I went outside and wrapped up the ratcheting straps so we'd have them handy. Discovered that they could get away with making them ungodly long because they didn't actually expect you to wrap up all the webbing on the spindle. I'm pretty sure every other one of these I've seen - most a little wider, and probably not as cheap as these - was capable of that, but these started jamming the mechanism when you have half the strap wound up. Oh well, they'll still work, just lots of extra hanging off in most cases.
Rachel helped me get stakes placed for the deer netting. We did the two elderberry, the river birch, and were working on the katsura when Deb finished her after-lunch shower and could watch Brandon - this freed up Justin, who turned out to have a knack for driving in the metal fencing poles. I had tried several things - a rubber mallet (the stake chewed it up a bit too much), a ball peen hammer (loud and ineffectual - a winning combination!), rubber mallet with pressure treated wood block (the stake split the wood block,) pre-drilling holes with the auger bit, and, finally, auger, followed by hammering in with the rubber mallet against a rock. We used three stakes per tree. Once Justin jumped in, things went faster - I drilled the holes, Rachel kicked the dirt back in (we didn't really want a hole - just the loosening of the soil) and held the post, and Justin hammered it in. We made quick work of the posts for the black pussy willow, native tulip tree, and the two mulberry. Rachel made us ice teas for a break, and then we wrapped the posts with the deer netting. Justin and I alternated cutting the netting, and then I held it taut while he hooked it on - if it comes undone, we'll need to get plastic ties to fasten it on. When we got to the tulip tree, Rachel wanted to do the cutting, so she did that and the second mulberry. I went in for the camera, so there will be a few pictures of that posted eventually. It was great seeing the two work together - Justin holding the netting and providing tension, and Rachel using the wire cutters to snip it apart. Justin actually put that one up entirely by himself, while I headed off to the front yard to take some pictures of the bleeding hearts while they're in bloom.
All three kids played for a while, and after I bit, I went in and grabbed the garden shears and the loppers, then went around the foundation trimming grass from the mulch bed (it is nowhere near deep enough, but it will get there eventually) and trimmed some dead leaves from a few plants around the foundation and elsewhere.
When we came in, Justin and I put up the blinds, and then went outside and tested for light leakage - can't see in at all, which is what's supposed to happen, so all was good there. We looked into putting up the shelf over the laundry, but it was a bit too long - by about an inch or so. We'll cut it down with a hacksaw tomorrow (today, actually, as midnight passed by...) I want to take care of that outside, though, as I don't have a workbench set up yet.
We did manage to get all the half-bath Victorian accessories installed, despite a failing of three of the cheesy drywall inserts they included.
Quite a day, really.
Tomorrow should also be busy: we need to get the shelves up, pry up two 4x8 sections in Justin's room, lay down 4 rows of insulation (which means the next step is to put down 4 sheets of 3/4 plywood!) Rachel needs to finish clearing stones from her garden so I can help her till it, and Justin has to clear some more leaves from the bottom 2/3 of Stone Stream. Before all that fun, we have to water everything we've planted, as it's getting Scorched Earth-dry out there. I noticed in the sandy wash (caused by the developer leaving piles of sand out after finishing the sand mound) that the ground is starting to crack, and walking almost anywhere - especially along the backwoods - results in crunchy footsteps. Not good. News also reported "the brush fires are back" - last weekend our county finally voted in a burn ban, and then it rained for a few days in a row - as far as I know, the ban was never lifted, so the danger never really went away. So, anyway, drinks all around... nice and early, which should actually help get the rain started.
Nothing like watering the outside plants - or washing your car - to make sure it rains right away.
Oh! Almost forgot to mention the fate of crew member #whichever-it-was: Just discovered him crawling back and forth along the starboard rail, obviously not performing his duties, and so he administered punishment and crushed him.
Sunday Updatia, Misplaced
Well, because it is based on stuff that happened yesterday - which is last Saturday, to everyone who is not here watching over my shoulder as I type this - and because I held off that post, I had to hold off this one, too.
Hmmm, I may give this whole thing up and just post these in a calm, orderly fashion once I get into work tomorrow (which is either today or a two days ago to you, depending on my whim.)
We did get the watering done - didn't take too long; Justin finished the last bit up while I started on the Hair o' the Mad Cow what Bit You or whatever name gets decided upon for that particular creation. The only problem was that particular meal didn't happen until something like 1:00pm or 2:30pm or some other ungodly, much later than 11:00am lunch time. After lunch, we put Brandon down for a nap, and then I hacksawed the shelves and the hanger pole down to size. Rachel managed to get the stones from her garden cleared. Justin and I built the sifter - 2x3', downsized from 3x3' originally, *almost* to a 2x2', and then I remembered the reason for the 3' was to be able to set it on the wheelbarrow.
While I was doing the first stage of the sifter construction, I set up the hose to the ornamental sprinkler. That instantly caught Rachel and Justin's attention - they were playing Hit the Kid on the Scooter with a Tennis Ball down in the cul de sac, but they ran up once they noticed the water whirling and twirling. I sent them in to get changed into bathing suits, and to wake Brandon up from his late nap, and the kids played for a bit, at least until Deb got back from her vacation afternoon and informed them it was too cold for such things. Of course, given that we have well water, it is pretty much assured that the water will always be too cold for such things, even in the heat of summer.
I got a bit ticked off later, as Rachel seems to be getting ticked on by some troublesome ticks - she found another one on her ear, and it was removed safely, but had been in place longer, thus more of a risk.
Due to our late start (nearly noon before we even started the watering that was supposed to happen early in the morning,) I was too beat to assemble the shelving, but we should be able to put that together tomorrow night. We didn't get to Justin's room, but with as little as twenty feet of nailed edges between those two boards, once we get this week's goal done, we've completed the one two weeks away as well, so we're not falling behind schedule (yet again.) Of course, it would be nice to be ahead of schedule for once, but that's wishful thinking.
Still haven't crunched those health numbers - should do it once I finish this - but I did notice tonight's blood pressure was back to very good. That gives excellent proof that if I can put in some physical exercise, or even work, I'll get healthier. That really should help kick my ass regarding exercise, but how well it works remains to be seen.
